


Snow

by Eruwryy (LaUsagi)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bottom Erwin Smith, Bottom Erwin Week, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 01:37:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4203009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaUsagi/pseuds/Eruwryy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short thing I wrote for bottom erwin week day 3: temperature! I literally just finished this thing and I didn't have to time to edit it properly or have it beta-ed, so sorry for the typos and other mistakes :'D</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snow

Standing on the ruins of an old run-down tower and staring at the sea of white and trees before him, Levi tried to remember when the first time he saw snow was, but he couldn’t. The memory was too distant now and there’s only so much he remembered about his childhood. They did have some snow in the Underground, but most of it fell through the sewer grates of the city above them, and by then it had already mostly melted to a dirty grey goop by the activities of the busy streets above. Sometimes though, some flakes managed to fall in all the way through. And in the scarce spaces where the sky was visible, the snow fell slowly, quietly, just like it did anywhere else, to become small, modest mounds that never lasted very long. The first time he saw the Outside world in winter though, that he remembered very well. A few days before that expedition, Levi had been cleaning the windows of Erwin’s office when snow started falling. He stayed there for a while, thinking about how much more beautiful it was to watch when it wasn’t falling into a big hole in the ground. He thought he would feel the same way about the Outside, but when the day of the expedition came, when the gates of Wall Rose opened and their horses started running in the fields, leaving small clouds of white, fluffy powder in their trail, it was like he was discovering the world anew. Levi had never seen anything like it before. In front of him, all the warms shades and hues he had known the Outside for during his first months in the Survey Corps had faded to dark greens, soft blues and whites. He remembered staring at the scenery for a long long time that day during the ride to their rendezvous point with another squad. And now here he was, six years later, looking at the same sky and feeling nostalgic. Part of him wondered why he was reminiscing like that out of nowhere, but it didn’t take him long to realize it was probably because he nothing else to do at that time except look in front of him, think and not freeze to death.

This day’s mission was a simple one. For a while, Hanji had been asking to explore the remains of what seemed like it used to be a small town. Judging from the state of the structures, the titans must’ve eaten or drove away all of the locals quickly enough to avoid the total destruction of its buildings and houses, leading Hanji to believe they could still find some valuable information on the world as it was before the titans, in the shape of books, or clothes, or tools, “Anything!!!”. A few days ago she not only got the green light from Erwin: the commander himself said would come along as he “had a strong interest in the subject matter at hand”. And where Erwin went, if it was outside the walls, Levi usually went. And so, while most of their small team was busy shovelling, following Hanji around and investigating this place, the rest of the soldiers were instructed with guarding the perimeter. The area had been scouted a few times beforehand and was considered relatively safe, but one could never be too careful when it came to titans, especially since aberrants could pop up at any time and decimate a whole unprepared squad in a matter of minutes if they felt like it. Levi decided he would get as far up as he could without his gear—which wasn’t very high at all compared to what he was used to—and for a few hours now he had been on the lookout for any kind of activity near their location. It was a glacial day, and despite having pulled up the hood of his thick winter coat and covering his face as much as he much with his neck warmer, he could feel the cold biting into his skin and chilling him to the bone. It didn’t help that he was wearing his gear under his coat. He felt the chilled metal of the contraption on his legs through the thin fabric of his uniform pants, giving him yet another reason to wish for the others would just wrap it up fast so he could go home and take a bath. Plus, the way parts of the gear bulged under his coat made him look silly. But since Levi understood the crucial importance of always having a few soldiers ready to fight at all times, he would go through this whole thing. He just had to be patient and stay focused on the task at hand, as undemanding as it was, for now. 

Levi didn’t really mind winters in general. They were always rough times for the Survey Corps: their funds were lower, they had to deal with the cold, find enough food to keep everyone healthy—which had become even more difficult since the fall of Wall Maria— and most soldiers felt either weak or sick at one point, amongst other things. But winters were also times of peace. They couldn’t fight titans during winter. For that, they would either need to go out in the field without their coats, which was out of the question, or try to wear their gear under their coat, which was a hazard and an unnecessary risk—only a handful of highly trained soldiers were allowed to use their gear in the wintry Outside, and it could be only used when it was absolutely necessary. Plus, while the Survey Corps’ presence was at least tolerated during the warmer months, there was no way anyone would give them any funds to fight and die off in the cold. So they didn’t. They didn’t have to fight and no one had to die. It was good. Instead, they used that time to train, do research, prepare for the upcoming spring and explore was what considered “safer” land, like they were doing today. Despite all of these upsides though, there were two things about winter Levi could not stand.

First, obviously, was the cold. He hated the cold very, very much. He endured it without fussing too much of course, because he had to and he had been through a lot worse, but the thing about the cold was that Levi didn’t know how to handle it. Stress? He could always find a way to calm down. Someone attacks him out of the blue? He could fight to protect himself and kill if he had to. But the cold? If he had to stay outside and he was already wearing everything he had to wear to keep warm and he was still cold, what was he supposed to do? The Underground City was one hell of shithole alright, but one of the pluses of living in what was pretty much a closed off cave is that it wasn’t frozen all over for three months straight. Sure, they got cold sometimes, dangerously so in fact, but they never had to deal with fucktons of snow everywhere, the annoying wind, the big ass heavy coats and pieces of shit gloves that somehow always left Levi’s fingertips numb and the stupid heavy boots that never fit him quite right and made him walk weird. 

Levi was taken out of his happy winter thoughts when he heard the familiar crunch of boots in the fresh snow, pacing regularly and then coming to a full stop near the tower. Levi looked down and saw Erwin Smith was standing there looking at him, waiting for Levi to notice him. Levi scanned the horizon carefully one last time and started to make his way down the tower. A few precise movements later he was landing right in front of his commander, who looked like he expected no less from him. 

“Hello Le-“

The sight of Levi’s face stopped Erwin right in his tracks. Levi’s bangs had become wet from the snow falling down and stuck to his face and into his eyes. He looked cold of course, and even more tired than he usually did, but his expression also gave Erwin the feeling that Levi wasn’t very pleased with his assignment for the day, which was completely understandable. If Levi’s usual, impeccable looking self could be compared to a formidable and deadly bird of prey, his current self was closer to an upset wet cat and while the thought made Erwin want to smile, he knew better than to make Levi angry at him and kept himself in check. He cleared his throat before resuming.  


“So, how are you holding up? Any titan sightings so far?”

Levi at the horizon. “None. Nothing but snow and trees.”

He paused looked back at him. “And you know you would’ve been the first one to know if there had been any. So why are you here? I thought you wanted to search this whole place before dusk. ”  
There was no hostility in his tone, only questioning. The sooner Erwin and the rest of the team were done, the quicker they could get back to the barracks and a steaming cup of tea, after all. 

This time, Erwin allowed himself a smile. 

“Ah, I also wanted to check on you. I know you don’t usually do very well in the cold.”

Levi crossed his arms. “Sorry not all of us have extra layers of fat to keep them warm”. 

Erwin chuckled. “I thought you would like snow more. It’s pale and beautiful and clean.” 

He seemed to want to add something else to that sentence but stopped himself, which was probably for the best. Levi didn’t pay it any attention. He was too busy looking at Erwin who was smiling fondly at him, tall and looking handsome as always, but even more so when standing there in the snow, bathed in the soft natural light of winter, the cold slightly colouring his cheeks. His hair, usually so perfectly placed, had been a little disheveled by the ride to the town and the falling snow, but somehow it made him look even better, which somehow made Levi feel kind of upset. The deep red colour of his neck warmer matched beautifully with the icy blue of his eyes and Levi couldn’t help but think about the night before when he had this beautiful man body’s pinned under his, sweating, shivering and trembling, their bodies tangled under the sheets and in that moment feeling so very warm. 

Levi finally realized he had been staring at Erwin for way too long and looked away, blushing and embarrassed to have dozed off like that right in front of him. 

“…I don’t hate snow. I just don’t like that it sticks to everyone’s boots and brings shit back inside the barracks and all over the floors. Real pain in the ass to clean, even when everyone works together to get rid of it.”

That was the second thing Levi didn’t like about winter. Mushy, wet slush all over the floors, damaging the wood, staining the few precious carpets they had and overall turning the whole barracks into a real mess in a matter of minutes. Levi didn’t need the extra work on top of everything else he already took care of. 

“I guess you’re right,” Erwin commented.

Erwin looked at him for a moment, considering something, then removed his pouch and opened his coat, holding the sides apart wide enough so Levi could fit against him. 

“…What are you doing? “ Levi asked.

“I’m putting my extra layers of fat to good use” Erwin answered with a smile. “No one’s looking” he quickly added.

Levi considered the idea for a moment. It was true that thanks to the surrounding buildings they were still out of sight and if someone were to come closer to them Levi would hear them coming. And the idea of finally feeling warmer was way too damn tempting. So he gave in and pressed his body against Erwin’s, who immediately joined the two sides of his coat together behind Levi so they would lose as less heat as possible. 

The side of Levi’s head was pressed against Erwin’s chest, while Erwin embraced Levi in a hug and pressed a gentle kiss on Levi’s head. They stayed like this for a while, not needing to say anything. Erwin’s body was comforting, he smelled nice and listening to the sound of Erwin’s heartbeat put Levi at peace, as it always did. This was good and Levi needed it more than he cared to admit. He exhaled in relief, pressing himself closer to Erwin, his arms small around the taller man’s waist. 

He was taken out of his reverie when he felt Erwin move away and raise Levi’s chin slightly to look at his face. He pressed a small kiss on the bridge of his nose, smiling and running a hand through Levi’s dark hair. 

“Your nose looked cold,” he explained. 

The red of Levi’s nose had now spread to his cheeks and the lieutenant was trying his very best to not look away.

“You’re gross.” He added before grabbing a fistful of golden hair and made the taller man bend down for a hot, ardent kiss. Erwin tensed up at first, but quickly relaxed and gave in to the kiss, opening his mouth to let Levi’s tongue slip in. Erwin held the smaller man tighter against him while his other hand was on the nape of Levi’s neck, the touch of his fingers against the short hair of his undercut making Levi shiver. His grip on Erwin’s hair tightened and taller man let out a small moan in his mouth. Levi took Erwin’s lower lip between his, slightly biting at it before kissing him again. Moments later, Levi broke the kiss and for a moment they stood there, looking at each other with heat in their eyes and panting, their breaths fuming into the cold air around them. Levi’s hand was resting on Erwin’s nape, looking at the beautiful mess he made of Erwin’s perfect hair and perfect composure. Erwin looked this way for him and him only, and the fact alone was enough to make Levi’s blood boil.

“I want to mess you up.”

Levi had let the sentence slip in the heat of the moment, but it was nonetheless true. The statement obviously took Erwin by surprise and this time it was him who blushed, his eyes widening. He swallowed.

“I…would like that as well. Once we get back, that is.” He answered, trying to keep his voice steady.

Levi’s lips curled into a small smile and he stepped back. He already started to feel a bit cold but it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t last long. 

“It’s settled then. Now go back to looking through old shit so I can get back to protecting your ass.”

Without waiting for him to answer, he climbed back up the tower, knowing that something else than snow would occupy his thoughts until they got back home.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated!


End file.
